Chapter 535: Liu Shishi Takes Off, Da Meiyuan's Bad Habits, New Projects

At the end of March, several films vying for the Qingming Festival slot were released.

But the one that garnered the most attention within the industry was none other than *Witch* and *Chef Actor Rascal*.

The former is an action film written by Wei Jin, directed by 400-million-box-office action director Lin Chao-xian, and starring the newly minted Four Dan Actresses member Liu Shishi.

One look at the script content reveals that *Witch* is benchmarked against *Lucy*, the film that first launched the domestic 400-million-box-office leading lady Jing Tian and became a global hit.

Whether in the production industry or among the audience and film fans, there is considerable anticipation.

As for the latter, although director Guan Hu doesn't have much drawing power, the three leads are all powerhouses, dubbed "three Best Actors in one play," making it full of gimmicks.

Especially with Huang Bai, who has had several hit films in a row, currently at the peak of his popularity.

The industry also wants to know if this plain-looking Golden Horse Best Actor really has the ability to carry the box office regardless of the script and production team.

Regarding these two films, theater chains are also very optimistic; the former had an average opening day screen share of over 24%, and the latter reached 22%.

In the current environment where imported films are rampant, this is very rare.

Of course, whether this screen share can be maintained depends on the results of the opening day.

Liu Shishi cares deeply about her first film and has been diligently following the crew for theater roadshows and promotions.

After leaving the Wanda IMAX cinema in Beijing, Liu Shishi, accompanied by her Assistant Xiao Tao, entered the nanny van and immediately took out her phone to check the film's attendance rate.

When she saw that the average attendance rate for the midnight and morning screenings was as high as 60%, the heart that Liu Shishi had been holding in her chest finally felt a bit more at ease.

"I hope this can live up to Brother's script."

After muttering to herself, Liu Shishi closed her eyes to rest; there were still a large number of roadshows ahead. Not long after midnight on the 30th, the news on major portal websites was updated.

"Opening day box office for *Witch* hits 28.6 million, ranking first for the day, a great start!"

"Lin Chao-xian's action scenes remain brilliant, Liu Shishi's debut in a major commercial production performs well."

"*Chef Actor Rascal* opening day box office hits 20.26 million, ranking second, Huang Bai becomes a box office panacea."

"Hollywood blockbuster *Magic Land* opens with 13.86 million, relegated to third place."

"Fierce competition in the Qingming slot, domestic films move forward against the trend."

Compared to the original version of *Witch*, Wei Jin's version had already cut many restricted scenes to pass censorship.

But the clean and crisp fighting style and the violent aesthetics of fighting evil with evil still left the audience exclaiming how satisfying it was.

Thus, the word-of-mouth for *Witch* is quite good, with an Yinxiang Net rating as high as 8.2, which is almost rarely seen among action films.

The reviews from film fans are also mostly positive.

X10969: "I vaguely guessed it was a theme about biochemical modification just by looking at the opening; the first half was setup, the second half got better and better, the imagination was wild, the action parts were quite refreshing, recommended!"

Iron Blood Tiga Ultraman: "Although it's pretentious, it's good to watch."

Little Suiyun: "To be honest, the setup in the front was a bit long, but the invincible scenes in the back, the action scenes were really explosive."

Meng Jing Song Xue Luo Hong Chen: "Liu Shishi acted quite well, she actually pulled off such a crazy character, thumbs up."

Nowhere to Pick Up Money: "Lin Chao-xian's action scenes are indeed impeccable, the counter-kills are super satisfying, I feel it doesn't lose to *Lucy*."

"."

Looking at the first-day results and the online reviews, Liu Shishi felt the fatigue of the roadshow swept away, and her whole person was full of fighting spirit.

Although this was only the first day of release, Liu Shishi knew that she was about to take off.

Then, as if remembering something, a blush appeared on the little girl's exquisite face, and she took out a set of black silk translucent pajamas from her suitcase.

After changing, Liu Shishi bit her red lips, struck a pose she considered extremely seductive, took a photo, and sent it out. Wei Jin naturally saw Liu Shishi's silk pajama photo, but it was noon in North America, and he was in the delivery room accompanying Da Meiyuan and their son.

Saying he was accompanying her was actually just being ordered around by Da Meiyuan, after all, their son spent most of his time sleeping in the cradle.

Although the private hospital had everything, Da Meiyuan seemed to like this feeling of being carefully pampered and taken care of.

At this moment, taking advantage of the time their son was sleeping, Da Meiyuan watched *Longling Miku* on her tablet while enjoying Wei Jin's feeding.

Perhaps it was because the original *Candle in the Tomb: Jingjue City* set a viewership rating of over 4, allowing Modu TV and Jiangzhe TV to reap the benefits, so this time the two sides joined forces again and took down this show at a price of 3.3 million per episode.

The internet copyright was still taken by Tudou, at a price of 1.2 million per episode.

Don't think it's expensive; nowadays, with the entry of capital, actors' salaries are getting higher and higher. Even though Shanhe Media mostly uses its own artists, the production cost of a TV series still mostly has to be maintained at 1.5 million per episode.

Adding in promotion and production cycles, this price is not outrageous.

In fact, if it weren't for the fact that *Longling Miku* had too few episodes, only 24, the price offered by the TV stations would have been even higher.

Of course, with the brand of Shanhe Media and the huge fan base of the original novel, the viewership of *Longling Miku* did not disappoint the two TV stations.

The premiere viewership rating broke 2, landing at number one for the same period, firmly suppressing several TV series such as *Sunny Day*, *Happy Noodles*, *Temptation Above the Clouds*, and *War and Beauty 2*.

And as the plot progressed, the viewership of *Longling Miku* climbed step by step; currently, just one week after airing, the peak viewership rating has reached as high as 3.37, and the viewership share has exceeded 15%.

This is absolutely quite rare in the current TV series market and can definitely be called a hit.

It is said that the TV series production department has already urged the screenwriting department to get the rest of the *Ghost Blows Out the Light* series out.

It's just that what left Wei Jin a bit speechless was that Da Meiyuan's habit of watching TV was not very good; she kept pulling him to complain about the plot, making a fuss, without any appearance of a goddess.

"Yuan Yuanjie, keep your voice down, you'll wake our son up in a moment."

Da Meiyuan's eyes narrowed, her mouth pouted: "Oh, now that you have a son, I'm not important anymore, right? You have to lecture me for watching a show?"

"."

Wei Jin was choked into speechlessness; what was all this? But before he could speak, Da Meiyuan started shooing him away.

"Alright, alright, our son is sleeping soundly, you go out, let Meng Ying come and watch with me, really, you won't even let me talk while watching a show, there's no fun at all."

"."

Fine, a woman in postpartum confinement is not to be trifled with; Wei Jin hurriedly let Huang Mengying come over.

However, Da Meiyuan's habit of complaining while watching TV gave him inspiration, and he immediately sent a voice message to Wang Wei.

"President Wang, I think there are some places in our website that can be optimized, for example..."

Entering the weekend, as the film's word-of-mouth fermented, the results of *Witch* hit new highs. Saturday brought in 36.8 million, and Sunday brought in 35.2 million.

After the first three days of the weekend, the box office of *Witch* directly crossed the 100-million mark.

Although this performance is quite inferior compared to *Seattle* and *Left Ear*, it still left the industry shaken.

Based on current trends, there is almost no suspense that the box office for *Witch* will break 300 million; there is also a great chance it will break 400 million, and 500 million is not entirely impossible.

As a listed company, Jiahe previously announced the production cost of *Witch*, which was less than 50 million even including marketing and distribution.

This means that Jiahe will pocket at least tens of millions or even over a hundred million from this wave; it's just too damn crazy.

However, what is even more surprising is the film *Chef Actor Rascal*.

The audience doesn't know, but those in the circle all know that this so-called "three major film emperors performing on the same stage" is entirely a gimmick casually cooked up by Guan Hu, and the filming set was even concentrated on a single stage.

The total production cost of the film was less than 15 million, but after three days, the box office has already broken the 80 million mark, directly recouping costs and achieving profitability.

People in the industry are joking that whoever gets Huang Bai gets the world.

Although it is just a joke, it also proves that Huang Bai's drawing power among domestic male actors can be called in a league of its own.

At the same time, *Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons*, which had its run extended by 20 days, finally ended its screening, and media reports began to flood the screens.

"Zhou Xingxing's film *Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons* has successfully concluded its run, with a total box office of 1.345 billion, regrettably losing to *The Thieves* and ranking third on the Chinese-language film box office chart."

"The film's investors in the Mainland China market can receive about 550 million in box office revenue share alone. Shanhe Media, enjoying a 60% share, will be the biggest beneficiary!"

"Zhou Xingxing earns over 100 million with zero risk, frankly stating that the cooperation with Shanhe Media was very pleasant."

With a big box office hit, a celebration banquet is inevitable; Shanhe Media's invitations have already been sent to major companies in the industry.

Looking at the bright red invitation, Wang Zhongjun felt very uncomfortable; if he had been a bit more generous back then, this 60% share would have belonged to Huayi.

This profit alone would have completely covered all the films that lost money last year; it's such a pity.

"Zhonglei, let's go to the celebration banquet together, and by the way, call Xiaogang back so we can have a good talk with Zhou Xingxing."

Wang Zhonglei, who was smoking a cigar on the sofa, was stunned: "Brother, isn't this giving him too much face? His efficiency isn't high, and with Zhou Xingxing's temperament, even if he made a lot of money with Wei Jin, he will still ask for quotes next time."

Wang Zhongjun sighed: "Zhonglei, no matter how efficient he is, do you think there will be few companies going to build relationships this time? If we don't go, the old ties will be completely severed."

Wang Zhonglei understood his brother's concerns; with the departure of Chen Guofu, the only director Huayi can really put forward now is Feng Dapao.

Although Zhou Xingxing is greedy for money, *Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons* did prove his drawing power in the industry; as long as he can help Huayi make money, who cares what he did in the past?

Compared to other companies in the industry, Huayi at least protected him a bit back then; under equal conditions, Zhou Xingxing wouldn't completely refuse to give face.

"Alright, I'll notify Xiaogang now."

The celebration banquet for *Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons* was held on a grand scale, with an entire floor of the Huangchao Hotel booked out.

It wasn't that Chen Zhiming wanted to be extravagant and wasteful, but he received notice from Han Sanping saying that many leaders from the General Administration would be attending.

In old Han's words, this is a model for co-productions between the two regions and must be pushed out as a banner.

Since that is the case, the scene naturally cannot be shabby.

As one of the Four Dan Actresses, Yang Mi also attended the scene; looking around, it was truly lively.

Almost all actors above the second tier in the circle were present, and there were many third-tier ones whose names couldn't be recalled, all brought by their agencies to show their faces.

Small companies and large companies, the boundaries between different circles were distinct.

Yang Mi and Ceng Jia were like fish in water on such occasions, especially after establishing their Studio; they are now walking connections.

However, looking at Zhou Xingxing, who was at the center and surrounded by a crowd of top industry companies like Enlight Media, Huayi, Wanda, Bona, and Starlight, Yang Mi couldn't help but sigh that only by bringing benefits to capitalists can one be respected.

It is obvious that these people did not all come for the sake of Shanhe Media; most of them are thinking about how to cooperate with Zhou Xingxing next time.

Yang Mi couldn't reach the circle of core big shots, but she could still chat with many small and medium-sized production companies.

However, she noticed that the actors from the *Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons* crew were also busy networking.

Although Huang Bai was not the male lead, his recent popularity was too high, making him the center of the crew, surrounded by many production companies.

And that Wenzhang, one of the Four Young Dan who was always arrogant in media reports, was nodding and bowing from time to time.

"Tsk tsk, judging people by their status, he really knows how to do it."

Although she was complaining in her heart, it did not affect Yang Mi's continued display of smiles while connecting with resources in the circle.

Most of the guests who came to show support today had the idea of cooperating with Zhou Xingxing, but no one expected that Zhou Xingxing, who was always inefficient, would be completely different this time.

Facing the routine questions from reporters about his new film plan, Zhou Xingxing frankly stated that his next film was already on the agenda.

"In fact, while filming *Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons* and doing post-production, I carefully considered the new film. There are currently two directions: one is a sequel to *Journey to the West*, and the other is an inspiration I had by chance. Although there is no complete script yet, I estimate it won't take too long this time; within 1-2 years, it should be approved and started."

The production companies in the audience all had their eyes lit up.

Although the domestic film market is becoming more and more prosperous, money-making projects are still in the minority.

Whether it is the sequel to the big IP *Journey to the West* or Zhou Xingxing's new project, both can be called the top resources in the industry and must not be missed! Qin Hong of Starlight immediately spoke up: "If Director Zhou's new project needs support, just ask."

Wang Zhongjun was not to be outdone: "Director Zhou, Huayi is an old partner; we will definitely support you with all our strength."

"Bona is the same."

"Director Zhou, Enlight Media is also looking forward to cooperation."

The other numerous production companies also echoed, but Zhou Xingxing at least remembered that this was the celebration banquet for *Journey to the West*, so he didn't talk more, only indicating that he would invite everyone to cooperate when it starts.

After the celebration banquet ended, the news was immediately released; fans were all looking forward to it, and actors in the industry were also full of anticipation.

After all, if Zhou Xingxing's films don't feature him, his ability to promote people is quite strong.

Just like Wenzhang, Huang Bai, Luo Zixiang, and even those actresses this time, all left a very deep impression.

However, Chen Zhiming was not very happy and specifically took time to report to Wei Jin, saying that Zhou Xingxing was not being decent, as such things were not communicated in advance.

Regarding this, Wei Jin was not surprised at all; Zhou Xingxing looks at money for everything, otherwise he wouldn't have left Huayi to join Shanhe Media in the first place.

As for his new film, if Shanhe Media can cooperate, they will; if they can't, it's not like they are missing that one film.

(End of this chapter)